Positive
by Demon Pox Herondale
Summary: Emma and Julian tried to ignore their night at the beach. But what if it's not something they can ever forget? These are the consequences of trusting Clary's runes. Post LM, no LoS spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

Emma's period was late. Two weeks late. And she was feeling a little sick. It was probably nothing. A cold, or a stomach bug. But being a Shadowhunter, she didn't get sick very often. And it was some unfortunate timing for her first illness in years. And she couldn't forget that night with Julian a few weeks ago, couldn't push away the thought nagging at her in the back of her mind, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it and convince herself it was nothing. Because it was impossible. She had the rune. She trusted Clary's runes to work. She couldn't be pregnant...could she?

No. There was no way she could be. She was just sick.

But a week later, she wasn't feeling any better. She was throwing up every day now, and she still hadn't gotten her period. She was going to have to face the fact that it wasn't going to go away if she ignored it. She was starting to think about a pregnancy test.

. . . . . .

 _Positive._ Emma gasped.


	2. Chapter 2

A baby. Emma had a baby growing inside of her. And as if that wasn't bad enough on its own, it was a highly illegal, would-get-her-and-Jules-stripped-of-their-runes baby. Which meant that she somehow had to hide it from everyone. And being pregnant would be easy enough to hide for a little while, but it wouldn't work for long. Soon enough, she would have to tell someone. Soon enough, the Clave would find out. And that would be the end of her life. And Jules'. Which meant she had to do something about it.

"Emma!" Mark's voice called through her door. "Dinner's ready!"

Mark! That's it!

"Hold on! I'm coming!" Emma walked out the door and smiled at Mark, pretending to bite her lip. She brushed past him, trying to put some feeling into her touch. He raised his eyebrows and smiled back at her, before turning and leading the way to the kitchen. The kids were already seated around the table, and Jules was at the stove. Emma sank into a chair next to Livvy, and Mark sat down on her other side. Julian glanced over at them, and Emma leaned in toward Mark a bit to whisper in his ear. "Can I speak to you after dinner?"

A flash of hurt passed across Julian's face, and he quickly turned back to the stove. Emma felt a guilty tug in her heart, but she needed to do this. She was protecting him, even if he didn't know it.

"Of course," Mark whispered back.

Dinner passed all too slowly, and Emma was relieved when she could finally escape upstairs to speak with Mark. He stopped at his door and looked at her, and when she nodded, he opened the door and they walked in, Emma pulling it shut behind her.

"You wanted to talk?"

"I need a favor."

"Favors are no light thing to faeries."

"They are no light thing to Shadowhunters, either. You said you owed me. For taking care of Julian. For saving his life. You said you would do anything."

"Please continue, then," Mark finally said. "And if it is a favor in my power to grant, I will grant it."

"If Julian asks-" Emma paused and took a deep breath "No. Whether he asks or not. I need you to pretend with me that we're dating. That we're falling in love."

Mark's eyes widened. "What?"

"You heard me. I know it seems strange."

"It seems very strange. If you want Julian to think you have a boyfriend, why not ask Cameron Ashdown?"

"It has to be you."

"Anyone would be your boyfriend. You're a beautiful girl. You don't need someone to lie."

"This isn't for my ego," Emma said frustratedly. "And I don't want a boyfriend. I want the lie."

"You want me to lie just to Julian, or to everyone?"

"I suppose everyone will have to believe it. We can't ask them all to lie to Julian."

"No," Mark said with a smile. "That would be impractical."

"If you're not going to do it, tell me. Or tell me what I can say to convince you. This isn't for me, Mark, this is for Julian. This could well save his life. I can't tell you more than that. I have to ask you to trust me. I've protected him all these years. This-this is part of that."

"You want me to tell him, tell everyone, that we are falling in love. Not that we are in love already?"

Emma blushed. "It needs to be believable"

"There is much that you are not telling me. I assume you will want everyone to know that we have kissed. Perhaps done more."

Emma nodded, and her blush deepened. "I swear to you, I'll explain as much as I can if you agree. And I swear it could save Julian's life. I hate to ask you to lie, but-"

"But for the ones you love, you'd do anything. I can see why you chose me. I am here, and close, and it would have been easy for us to begin a relationship. We are neither of us attached to someone else. And you are, as I said, a beautiful girl, and hopefully you don't find me hideous."

"No, not hideous," Emma said, relieved.

"So I suppose I only have one more question," Mark said, raising an eyebrow and holding out a hand to Emma. "Why lie?"

Emma hesitated, then pushed Mark's hand away, frustrated. He looked hurt, and right then, she made the decision to tell him everything. She groaned and ran her hands through her hair. She mumbled something under her breath, hoping Mark wouldn't hear. Unfortunately for her, he did.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT?!"

Emma groaned again.

"It was Cameron, was it not? Would you like me to kill him for you?"

"Please do! But no, it wasn't him."

Mark looked confused. "If not him, then-" Mark stopped for a second, clearly coming to a realization, then gasped. "It's Julian."

Emma nodded meekly. "It was a mistake. We were drunk, and alone, and it just sort of happened. I don't feel anything toward him. It was just hormone-driven drunk teenagers being hormone-driven drunk teenagers. But no one can know, obviously, so I need you to cover for me. I need it to be your baby. Please?"

"You and Julian. . . fine. I'll do it. But I still don't understand. Why lie?"

"Mark, what about Kieran? And Cristina?"

Mark shrugged. "Every lie has to have some truth to it."

Emma bit her lip, considering. Then, she sighed, smiling a little, and shrugged. "I guess you're right." She took his hand and pulled him closer.


	3. Chapter 3

A few hours later, there was a loud knock at Emma's door.

"We think we found something!" Livvy's voice yelled through the door. "Come on!" Emma leapt out of bed and opened the door. She followed Livvy down to the library, where they rest of the family was already gathered. Ty was standing at the computer, rapidly explaining something.

"Wait, start over," Emma demanded, walking over to stand shoulder to shoulder with Mark. Julian flashed her a hurt look, but she pointedly ignored him, despite the pang in her chest. Then Ty launched back into his explanation, and Emma turned her focus to his words, temporarily forgetting her situation. The investigation was still important. Even though Malcolm was dead and Emma had gotten her revenge, there were still some loose ends they needed to tie up- mainly finding the Black Volume, which had sunk with Malcolm to the bottom of the sea.

For the next half hour, they debated Ty's lead, eventually coming to the realization that it was a false start. Disappointed and going back to the other task at hand, Emma leaned into Mark a bit, and he put a comforting arm around her. She felt Julian's eyes boring into her as she allowed Mark to lead her out of the room, glad that nobody else but Julian had seemed to notice. And as the door closed behind them, she pulled away a bit, still getting used to the idea of really being with Mark.

What she wanted was to return back to her room and be alone, but if she was going to pull this off, it needed to look real, so she followed Mark into his room.

"I've been thinking about this," Mark said. "And not that I'm complaining about being your 'boyfriend', but why don't you just get an abortion and then not have to worry about any of this?"

"I. . ." Emma started. "Well, Shadowhunters tend to frown upon that sort of thing. It's not technically illegal . . . but no one does it." Emma felt bad for reminding Mark that he was different from the rest of them, but she had to make it clear that an abortion was not an option. She had a baby growing inside of her. It was alive. An abortion would be murder.

"I've been thinking too," Emma said, sitting down on Mark's bed. He came and sat next to her, taking her hand. She pulled it away, annoyed. "I think I need to tell Cristina. She needs to know that there's nothing actually going on between us, or she's gonna hate me forever. And I don't think I could survive that."

"But why would Cristina be hurt? Isn't there something between her and Diego?" Mark asked, confused.

"There is, but you would have to be an idiot not to see that she also has feelings for you, Mark. Seriously."

"I knew she did, but I thought that was over now. And what do you mean, 'nothing actually going on between us?' Don't you feel anything?" Mark tried to take her hand again, but she stood up.

"Look, Mark, I'm sorry, but I'm going through a lot right now, and I'm not ready for anything. I'm supposed to go train with Cristina now, and I'm going to tell her what's going on. I have to go." She rushed out of the room, avoiding Mark's eyes. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself before changing into her gear and heading down to meet Cristina.


	4. Chapter 4

Cristina didn't meet Emma's gaze as she walked into the training room. She just mumbled a hello and threw a knife at the target, hitting it square in the center. Emma was feeling sick, but she needed to train, needed to let out all of her nervous energy with physical activity. She grabbed some knives off the table and stood in front of her own target, throwing them one after the other, all hitting their mark perfectly. But she didn't feel any satisfaction. She walked across the room to the rope ladder, and climbed as high as she could before dropping to the ground. Emma stumbled her landing for the first time in years as a wave of nausea overtook her. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on breathing.

She felt a hand on her back and heard Cristina's concerned voice ask if she was okay. She gulped down another mouthful of air and then opened her eyes, nodding. She wasn't going to be doing any more intense training until after the baby came, it seemed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cristina asked.

Emma realized she still hadn't moved from her position on the mat. Right then and there, Emma made a decision. She couldn't wait any longer to tell Cristina. The sooner, the better.

"Actually," Emma said softly, "we need to talk." She could see worry in Cristina's eyes.

"What is it?"

"Um, I think let's shower and change first, and then I'll come to your room. It's a really, really long story." Emma tried to laugh, make the situation seem lighter than it really was, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. This was too big to laugh about anymore.

. . . . . .

Fifteen minutes later, Emma was sitting cross-legged on Cristina's bed, her damp hair dripping onto the sheets. Cristina sat across from her, waiting expectantly.

Emma wasn't really sure where to start. Should she start with Jules? Or start by reassuring her friend that nothing was going on with Mark? She figured she'd better just start at the beginning, and go from there.

"So, I know you knew that Julian and I had . . . er. . . slept with each other." She stopped and took a deep breath. "Well, I'm kinda pregnant." She let the words out in a rush, watching them take effect on Cristina's face.

"You're _pregnant_!?" Cristina exclaimed. "But. . . but . . . what about the rune? I knew you had slept together, and that in and of itself was a disaster. But a baby? How could you be so careless?"

"Here's the thing: I had the rune. I know that's impossible, but it's the truth. I'm sure it hadn't worn off yet- it hadn't been that long. And since people started using it, it's never failed for anyone, so I have no idea how this could have happened."

"Well, it did happen, so now what? You can't hide it forever. Soon enough, you'll start to show. And when the Clave finds out, they're gonna be furious. So what are you going to do about it?"

"About that. . . I'm sure you noticed me and Mark earlier. I'm really sorry about this, but I asked him to pretend to be with me so it can be his baby. He agreed. I promise there's nothing real between us, but I think this is the best way to cover it up. Since an abortion is not an option, better everyone think it's his baby than Julian's."

"Okay, okay. Fine. We can only hope they never find out. But how much does Mark actually know? Did you tell him everything?"

"No. I told him it was Julian's baby, but I didn't tell him the full story. I told him it was, and I quote, 'hormone-driven drunk teenagers being hormone-driven drunk teenagers', and that there's nothing between me and Julian. He seems to believe me."

Cristina sighed loudly. "Fine. How long has it been? Since you got pregnant, I mean."

"It's been, like, a month."

"Emma, you have to be sure about this. It's nothing to laugh about. Soon enough, everyone is going to notice that you look pregnant. You need to give yourself time and brace for questions."

"You're right. I'm certain it's been about a month, no more. I should have at least another month before anyone notices anything."

"Yes. And you're going to need to start seeing a doctor soon, too. Have you considered how you're going to hide that?"

Emma groaned. To tell the truth, she hadn't really thought through all the logistics of this, and she certainly hadn't considered a doctor. Emma couldn't remember the last time she had gone to a doctor. "I guess I'm going to have to tell them soon. But I need them to believe that I'm with Mark first. It needs to be long enough that I could have believably gotten pregnant already. I can hide my first appointment or two so that I don't have to tell quite yet. And I don't need to start going to the doctor yet- I can start in a couple weeks."

Cristina sighed. "All right, but you can't put this all off forever."

"I'm not saying forever! I'm saying two weeks. And I'll spend that time continuing to build up my fake relationship with Mark."

Cristina sighed again. Lots of sighing that night. "Fine. What you did was stupid, but you seem to be planning it fairly well, I'll give you that. Good for you."

"Thanks," Emma said. She hugged Cristina, then hopped off the bed. "I'm gonna go talk to Mark some more." She winked and left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma settled onto the couch next to Mark, pulling a giant bowl of popcorn onto her lap. Dru had suggested that they all have a family movie night to take their minds off the investigation- take a little break. She and Mark had taken an opportunity to silently announce their 'relationship', planning on some kind of PDA that they hoped everyone would notice. After all, they didn't want to make an announcement.

From the front of the room, Julian was glaring daggers at the two of them. Emma had been distant from him for the past week, and she tried to avoid his eyes now.

"Alright, you guys. What movie are we gonna watch?" Jules asked, turning away from them.

"Dracula!" Dru called, and was immediately shot down by Julian, with a single look.

"No horror movies," he said. Nobody argued.

"What about Princess Bride?" Livvy suggested. Ty wrinkled his nose. Even he was disagreeing with her, and that hardly ever happened.

"We've seen that wayyy too many times," Emma said. Livvy groaned, but she didn't argue.

"Um," Mark started, and everyone turned to him. "What about… the one that we always used to see. Before the war. The one about Kansas."

"Uh, the Wizard of Oz?" Julian said. Mark looked so desperate, and a chorus of yeses sounded from everyone. Even Kit. "Ooookay, then. Wizard of Oz it is." Julian searched for a minute for the DVD, then placed it in the DVR, dimmed the lights, and walked back to the couch. Emma noticed that he sat on the opposite end of the couch from her and Mark. _Good._

Two hours later, the credits started to roll on the screen. Quickly, Emma leaned in closer to Mark so it looked like the two of them had been cuddling the whole time. She pulled his arm around her and lay her head on his shoulder. Understanding Emma's plan, Mark adjusted himself so it looked more accurate. Emma watched Julian's silhouette get up from the couch to turn the lights back on, and braced herself for what was coming.

Immediately, Julian's eyes flitted to where she and Mark were, and they widened. Then, they quickly hardened, and Emma could see him put up a wall of nonchalance. He watched her for another moment, then cleared his throat. At that same moment, Livvy seemed to notice the way she and Mark were sitting.

"Oh my God," she said, "you . . . and Mark . . . and- are you guys together?!"

Emma swallowed and tried to look ashamed- which wasn't entirely difficult. "Yeah. We are." She was glad when Mark pulled his arm back -apparently also ashamed- and she could sit comfortably again.

"Wow," Livvy said. "I did not see that coming. But I guess it kinda makes sense. But Em, why didn't you tell me? How long have you two been hiding this?"

"Um, two weeks?" Emma said, confused but trying to come off as sheepish.

"You guys are so cute!" Dru exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you!"

Emma smiled at her. "Thanks, Dru." She glanced at Cristina, whose face was blank. She still felt a little bad about doing this to her friend, but she had seemed to understand. Next to Cristina, Diego was grinning broadly.

"This is great, guys! You'll make a wonderful couple. We can finally go on some double dates now." Cristina glared at him and slapped his arm.

"Emma is dating Mark?" Tavvy asked, looking confused. Dru pulled him onto her lap and tried to explain things to him in seven-year-old terms.

Ty was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Kit, not saying anything. Emma was sure he was listening, though. Kit looked very puzzled, and like he wished he wasn't in the midst of all of this. Emma was glad he had agreed to join them for movie night, as he had been reluctant to go to anything with the whole family. It was a shame that his first one had to be this.

Emma felt Mark take her hand, and she turned to him, doing her best to keep her face free of discomfort and to instead look happy. This was her life now, and she needed to get used to it.

Nobody but Emma seemed to notice that Julian had silently walked out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma took a deep breath, taking one last look into the mirror. Then, she turned away, forcing herself to leave her bedroom. She walked down the hall to Mark's room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Mark called.

"It's Emma," she replied.

"Come in." Emma walked in and closed the door behind her. She took another deep breath. "What is it?" Mark asked. He got up off his bed and stepped closer to her. He put an arm around her, and Emma concluded that she must have looked distressed. She closed her eyes, but Mark took that as a further sign of distress rather than disgust. He reached up and touched her cheek, then ran his fingers through her long hair. _Oh, well._ Emma leaned into him and hugged him so he would stop.

"Are you all right, Emma?" Mark asked, concern in his voice. At that, Emma pulled away. If she started speaking, he would surely stop what he was doing and listen to her.

"Um… well, I think it's time we told everyone that I'm pregnant. I think it's starting to show. They should believe it's your baby."

"Oh." He looked like he was thinking about it, then said, "Very well. I understand. When do think you should make the announcement?"

"I want to do it tomorrow. If we don't tell them, they'll find out. And I'd rather I tell them myself than they figure it out on their own."

Mark nodded. "Okay. I'll be there when you need me."

"Thanks." Emma gave a small smile, then mumbled an excuse about an assignment for Diana and walked out of the room.

* * *

Emma paused outside the door to the dining room and took a deep breath. She felt Mark standing next to her, uncomfortably close. She took a tiny step to the side and closed her eyes. Mom, Dad, please help me get through this. Please don't let the Clave find out the truth. And please don't let Julian hurt himself. Please.

Emma opened her eyes, stepped back next to Mark, and tried to clear her face of emotion. Mark reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly, and for once she squeezed back, taking comfort in the fact that he was here to help her.

Mark pushed open the door to the dining room and they walked inside. The chatter from the crowd around the table died down as they approached.

"Why'd you call us all here?" Livvy asked.

"I called you all here," Emma said, "because Mark and I had something important to tell you all." She was very aware of Julian trying to meet her eyes, and she made an effort to avoid him. "You see. . . well, there's no easy way to say it." She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

There was a moment of silence before everyone started yelling.

"Pregnant?!"

"NO WAY!"

"Who's the daddy?"

"Is it Mark's?"

"Duh it's Mark's, why else would they be holding hands?!"

Diego looked calm. "That was very careless of you, Emma," he said, looking up at her from his chair. Cristina reached over and slapped his arm.

Emma waited for everyone to calm down before continuing. "It was an accident. We were careless. But it happened. It's been about six weeks. We thought you should all know."

Julian's eyes were boring into her. She could feel his suspicion and knew she had to work harder. "Have you seen a doctor yet?" he asked. The tone of his voice was unlike any she had heard before, and she felt like the guilt of what she was doing to him was tearing her up inside. "You need to see one."

She swallowed. "Yes. I had my first appointment a couple days ago, and have another scheduled next month." She paused. "Even though this was an accident, Mark and I are very happy together and we are going to love our baby and be the best parents we can be."

Emma was about at her limit of this. Her hand was sweating in Mark's, and she forced one more smile at everyone. "I have to go," she said. "I'm not feeling too well. It's nothing, just the baby, but I gotta run. Sorry." She pulled her hand from Mark's and tried not to sprint out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Emma was completely aware that Julian was following her, but she didn't turn around until she had walked down the hall and up the stairs, where their conversation could not be overheard. Then she turned around to face him.

"Emma," he started. "I know you. I know what you're doing. And I already told you, it won't work."

"You think you know me," she said coldly, and each word hurt her to say. "But you don't. Not anymore."

"But this baby. You're really pregnant- I believe that part. But it's not Mark's baby. . . it's mine."

"Of course it's not yours! I _had_ the _rune_! And you know Clary's runes always work. It was Mark! I am in love with _Mark_! Us, we were never meant to be. This was never gonna work. We were being stupid. And, well, I'm serious now. There is absolutely no way you could have gotten me pregnant. No way at all. The rune wore off after, and I hadn't put it back yet, and Mark and I had _sex_. So it is _his_ baby. _Not_ yours." She could see her words taking effect. This had to work.

"Emma. . ." Julian's voice was so filled with pain that she could hardly bear to listen. "I just don't believe you."

"How?! Julian, I just don't see how it could be your baby. I had the rune, for fuck's sake! You need to get over it, Julian. I'm with Mark, and it's Mark's baby. You need to learn to deal with it." With that, Emma swiveled on her heel and walked away, headed for Mark's room. She knew Julian was watching her.

Shoving down her nausea, she stormed into Mark's room, leaving the door wide open. His room was empty, as she assumed everyone was still in the dining room. She yanked her phone out of her pocket and texted Mark. _Library ASAP._ She was practically slamming her fingers down on the screen, her blood thrumming through her veins.

She stalked back out of the room, brushing past Julian, and ran down the stairs to the library. Mark was standing there waiting for her, and he started to move closer and say something when he saw her approach, but he shut up when he saw the expression on her face.

Emma stepped closer to him and pushed him against the nearest bookshelf, making sure they were positioned so they could be easily seen from the door. Mark was looking more and more confused as she yanked his arms around her waist, tangled her fingers in his hair, and smashed her lips against his.

But then, he seemed to understand. Or at least, she hoped so, because he started to kiss her back, feverishly. She closed her eyes and let herself imagine, for a second, that he was anyone but Mark. She heard footsteps from the hall just as Mark slipped his fingers beneath the fabric of her shirt. For once, Emma was grateful for Mark's eagernesss. She could hear the footsteps stop right by the library, and she slid her hands underneath the collar of Mark's shirt, still kissing him. Then, she heard the same footsteps receding from the library, almost at a run.

When she was certain that Julian had left, Emma ripped herself away from Mark, breathless. His lips were swollen and his hair was a mess, and she assumed that she looked the same. She tugged the hem of her shirt down and tried to tame her hair. All the while, Mark looked bewildered, as if he had been awakened in the middle of a dream.

"Emma, what's going on?"

"Mark, I'm so sorry. Julian started to suspect that it was his baby and he wasn't convinced that we're together and I needed him to believe it so I thought the only place he would go to right now would be the library so I asked you to meet me here and I wanted him to see us kissing and. . . and-" Emma felt a sharp pain in her right hand across her knuckles, followed by, inexplicably, an ache in her chest, right where her heart was. The pain wasn't sharp, but somehow hurt more than her hand did. Then, images flashed through her mind: her and Mark holding hands on the sofa after the movie, her announcing that she was pregnant, and finally, what she assumed she and Mark must have looked like making out in the library.

 _Julian._


	8. Chapter 8

Emma bolted out of the room and down the hall. As she ran, her _parabatai_ rune started to throb, and it was worse than any pain she had ever felt. She was feeling weaker and weaker as she moved, as if her body were being drained of all energy. Somehow, she ran faster still, sprinting up the stairs and bursting into Julian's room.

He was sitting on the ground on a pool of blood, broken shards of glass surrounding him, and a large jagged chunk was clutched in his palm. Fear radiated through her. There was a gaping gash across his wrist, and there was so much blood. She dropped down to her knees in front of him.

"Jules," she whispered. "Oh my god, Jules." His eyes were glassy and unfocused. She grabbed her stele from her belt and climbed into his lap.

"No," he whispered. "No, Emma, I don't wanna. . ."

Emma put her fingers against his lips. "Shhh. You're not allowed to die." She was aware of the tears making tracks down her cheeks, but she ignored them. She used a shard of glass to tear his shirt down the front so she could draw a rune across his chest. She took a deep breath. This was just like last time. She could do this.

Emma pressed the tip against his chest and closed her eyes. Images of her and Julian rushed to the surface. Laughing together as kids, fighting together in the Dark War, and more recently, kissing beneath the stars. The immense happiness she had felt at finally doing what she had always wanted to do. What he had always wanted. The stele started to move. She drew on instinct, eyes squeezed shut, letting herself get lost in the memories.

Julian gasped, and Emma's eyes flew open. The _iratze_ on his chest was glowing golden, brighter than any runes they had drawn for each other in the past. It was beautiful. Quickly, she traced a blood replacement rune next to it, and it glowed just as brightly. The cut along his wrist began to close up, and Emma felt the relief overtake her in a wave.

"Emma," Jules whispered. "Em." Her tears were flowing harder now, and she flopped down against his chest. His arms encircled her, strong and familiar and comforting.

"Jules. Julian. Oh my god. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She was crying hysterically, and when she glanced up, she saw that his face was wet as well. "It's yours. The baby, I mean. There was never anything with Mark. I didn't know what to do. They'd strip us of our runes. They'd kill us. I'm so sorry. Julian. I love you. _I love you._ "

He wound his fingers into her hair. "That's the first time you've actually said it." His voice was unsteady.

"Then I've got a lot of missed time to make up for. I love you I love you I love you I love you." His whole body was shaking with relief and happiness as he clutched her. "I love you I love you I-" And then he was kissing her, and her senses exploded. She ran her hands over his shoulders as the kiss deepened. They were both still crying, their tears mingling as they slid down their cheeks.


	9. Chapter 9

Emma woke to a scream. It was Livvy in the doorway. She must have seen the blood on the floor. Emma sat up, and she could feel Julian stirring next to her. They had stumbled their way to the bed hours ago, both exhausted from the effects of blood loss, and fallen asleep in each other's arms.

"Hey, Livs," she said weakly. She was still tired. Julian had lost a lot of blood. "Don't worry about the blood. We're all good now." Julian rubbed his eyes and sat up, too. As beautiful as he was, Emma thought, he looked terrible. She probably looked the same.

"Livvy, tell everyone we need to talk. Dining room in a half hour."

"What, are you pregnant, too, Julian?" Livvy joked halfheartedly. When Julian didn't laugh, she shook her head. "Fine. You guys better have a good explanation for all this," she said, drawing a line between Julian and Emma with her finger. With that, she turned and walked away.

Emma turned towards Julian. "What are we telling them all?"

Julian sighed. "Everything, I think. There's not much else to do at this point."

"Good. I'm really tired of lying. We love each other, and nothing is going to change that."

"Plus, we've got a little guy in there to think about." He put his hand over her stomach, which she had noticed lately was starting to get a little bigger. Emma swatted his hand playfully.

"Who says it's gonna be a boy?" She paused, then continued, "but, Jules, there's something else I need to tell you." Her tone was somber.

"What is it?" His mood had changed to match hers.

"That day I broke things off with you? It wasn't just because it was illegal to be together. It was because Jem explained to me a little about why it's forbidden. It's not just a stupid law, Jules. There's a real reason." Emma told him everything Jem had told her, and when she was finished, he squeezed her hand.

"I'm not breaking up with you again. We'll figure this out together." She smiled at him, but it was a sort of sad smile. She was happy to finally be following her heart, but the law and the truth were still there, hanging over their heads.

. . . . . .

Half an hour later, after cleaning the blood and glass from Julian's room, changing the blood-stained sheets, and taking a hasty shower, Emma and Julian stood in the dining room, facing the crowd of Blackthorns and other Institute residents. Even Diana was there.

Emma and Julian were holding hands, and she was very conscious of the fact that all eyes were on their joined hands.

"Let me guess. Julian is pregnant, and it's Emma's baby," Kit said dryly. "That seems to be the trend around here."

"Not every announcement is about pregnancy," Livia snapped, and Julian had to smile.

"Julian can't be pregnant," Ty said, confused, from his seat next to Kit. "He's a male."

"It was a joke. I didn't mean that he could really be pregnant," Kit explained softly, and Emma looked up, surprised. Usually, it was Livvy who explained things to Ty. It seemed that he and Kit had grown closer over the past weeks, and Emma had been oblivious. She noticed now that they had their chairs pushed tightly up against each other. Emma smiled a bit, and then went back to the purpose of the meeting.

"I know I've been making lots of announcements these last few weeks," she said. "And I'm sorry to tell you that I've been lying about a lot. Julian and I are going to talk for a while, and we'll explain everything, but it would help if you don't interrupt or ask about anything until we're done."

Dru opened her mouth to speak, but Livvy immediately shushed her.

For the next few minutes, Emma and Julian told the family the entire story, from the _iratze_ from after Diego shot Julian, to the night on the beach, to Emma's plan with Mark, to earlier that day with the mirror. Everyone was quiet for a minute when they finished, and then Livvy jumped up from her chair, tackling Julian with a hug.

"Why are you such an idiot?!" she cried, but then she said nothing, clinging to her brother like a lifeline. Tavvy jumped up too, and gave Julian a hug around the legs. Julian scooped him up and held him.

"Do we get you back now?" he asked timidly. "You've been ignoring us a lot."

"I'm sorry, Tavs," Julian said. "You get me back."

"Sorry to interrupt," Diana said gently, "but how exactly did you get pregnant? You said you had the rune, and Clary's runes always work."

"We aren't really sure about that," Emma said. "It's a mystery."

"You said Malcolm saw you," Ty said. "So maybe he did something to the rune because he knew it would hurt you."

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Julian said after giving the possibility a moment of thought. "I bet you're right, Ty." Julian reached out and ruffled his brother's hair, and Ty looked pleased for a second, and then embarrassed as he glanced at Kit beside him.

"What about the Clave?" Diana asked. "I'm glad- well, actually, I'm not glad that you're in love, but that's because the punishments are unimaginably severe if the Clave finds out. However, I see that you tried to avoid this, and I'm not really sure what else you can do. Even if you avoid being together, nothing will end your love, and that's what the law prohibits."

"We don't know. It's obviously a big problem, but we're not sure what to do about it. But we thought we could talk to Magnus and see if he has any ideas."

"For now," Emma picked up, "we are just going to enjoy being happy and not having to lie."

"We can worry about the Clave another day," Livvy said, and even Diana didn't argue. She could see how happy Emma and Julian looked together, and she couldn't bear to disturb that just yet. For now, they could all be happy.


	10. Epilogue

Emma clutched Cal to her chest. Julian put an arm around his girlfriend and the new addition to his family.

"You're so beautiful, aren't you, little Cal-Cal?" Julian said.

"I know. He gets it from me, don't you think?" Emma teased. Funny, because the baby had the trademarked Blackthorn green-blue eyes and brown hair. Cal was giggling now, and Julian reached for him. Emma handed the baby to Jules and leaned her head against his shoulder.

The past few months had been stressful, but now that she had had the baby, things were tinted with a shade of happiness. When they had spoken to Magnus, he had wasted no time talking to Catarina and researching in the Spiral Labyrinth, trying to find a way to help Emma and Julian. He had found a few possibilities, and Livvy, Ty, and Kit had been put in charge of puzzling one of them out. Clary Fairchild and Jace Herondale had decided to dedicate some of their time to helping them, too, though they hadn't gotten very far. Magnus, Jem, and Tessa were working on something together, and they seemed to be having the most success of all of them.

Emma and Julian, in the meantime, were ordered to stay away from the investigation and spend some quality time together. They did, after all, have five years to catch up on. While most of their time was spent alone, in Julian's private studio, they had gone on a few double-dates with Diego and Cristina, as per Diego's request. Neither Emma nor Julian could resist rolling their eyes at Diego's perfection.

When it was time for the baby to come, Emma had given birth with Julian on one side and Clary on the other. Instead of a Silent Brother, Jem had stood in the corner, while Tessa had helped deliver the baby. He had come out crying, but soon quieted when he was placed in his mother's arms. Then, all of a sudden, what appeared to be a blue-green lightning bolt shot from his fingers and turned his mother's hair an electric blue. Emma had just laughed aloud in mild surprise and held him closer.

In their research, they had found that a baby born of two _parabatai_ could, in fact, have magical powers. Since, as far as anyone in the Shadow world knew, no two _parabatai_ had ever had a baby, Emma and Julian had simply braced for the possibility, knowing they would love the baby no matter what. It was decided that Cal's godfather would be Jace, much to Magnus' chagrin, but this was softened by the fact that Clary, his biscuit, was named the godmother.

Emma was snapped out of her reverie by Magnus yelling.

"Caligula Jonathan Blackthorn! Emma, your son has magicked away all the glitter on my fabulous pants!" Magnus tried to sound indignant, but he failed. Alec just laughed. He and Magnus had portaled to Los Angeles to visit Emma and Julian so that Alec could finally see the baby. Maryse was out of town, and it had taken much convincing on Magnus' part for Alec to finally agree to leaving Max and Rafael in Lily and Maia's custody.

Magnus was right, though. Cal had, from his position in his father's arms, made all the glitter on Magnus' pants disappear. Emma and Julian were still adjusting to their son's abilities, and making things disappear, was, admittedly, still new to them.

Alec rolled his eyes. "I think I like them better now. What do you think, Julian?"

Magnus scoffed, then playfully waved a fist at Cal, demanding that all missing glitter be returned to its rightful owner. Cal only giggled, but Magnus was smiling wide.

"Well, we had better get going, with or without that glitter. But I'd like to remind you that, whenever you need it, I would love to babysit Cal. I kind of miss the days when Max was young," Alec said wistfully.

"Yes, I know, Alec. Magnus has told me this many times. And I totally trust you, believe me, but _someone_ wouldn't even let me put him down in his crib. He has to be in our bed at night. Can you imagine him if we left Cal in your custody for even an hour?" Emma glared at Julian mockingly, not telling Alec that she felt the exact same way as her boyfriend.

"Well," Alec said, "the offer still stands."

"Thanks," Emma said.

After Alec and Magnus portaled back to New York, Emma took Cal back from Julian.

"It's time for a diaper change for you!" she exclaimed. Julian wrinkled his nose, and Cal just giggled again. "I love you! Yes, I do! I weeeeely weeeeely do!"


	11. Caligula Jonathan Blackthorn

Tessa placed the squirming baby boy in his mother's arms. Emma looked down into his tiny face and smiled. Julian sat down in the edge of the bed beside her, and he opened his eyes for the first time. They were the blue-green -truly Blackthorn- and he had wisps of hair on his head.

"He's beautiful!" Clary whispered.

"He really is," Tessa agreed. Emma was about to respond, when the baby cooed and a spark of blue-green light shot from his fingertips. Julian gasped, staring at Emma, his eyes wide.

"What?" she asked. "We had known this could happen."

Julian laughed. "I know," he said. "But look at your hair!" He reached out and pulled a lock in front of her face so she could see. It was electric blue. Emma giggled and hugged her baby closer.

"What do you want to name him?" Julian asked.

Before Emma could respond, Tessa spoke. "We'll give you two -well, three- some privacy to decide, and we'll be back soon to do the ceremony."

"Thank you," Emma said, and Tessa, Jem, and Clary left the room, quietly closing the infirmary door behind them.

"I was thinking we should continue with the way your parents named all of you, and name him after someone from ancient Rome," Emma began.

"Why would we do that?" Julian responded.

"It's like honoring their memory. Like naming the baby after them without actually naming the baby Andrew."

"What about your parents? We could name him John."

Emma winced. "I'm not ready for that yet. Plus, I don't think the Shadowhunters need another John. But with the Roman thing. I was thinking that Boudicca is a very underrated name," Emma said with a straight face.

"You want to name our child Boudicca," Julian said in disbelief.

"Isn't it perfect? We can call him Boudy for short." She was smiling.

"Emma, be serious. This is our _child_. He will have this name his whole life."

"I _am_ serious," she said, and when he glared at her she added, "Well, maybe not about Boudicca. But about the Roman name. How about Caligula?"

"That isn't much better than Boudicca," Julian said.

"Yes it is! We can call him Cal for short." Julian hesitated. Emma could tell she was winning.

"Cal is a cute name," he said finally. "But let's make his middle name Jonathan. It's subtly after your parents, but it's also traditionally Shadowhunter."

"All right," Emma said. "I like it."

"Caligula Jonathan Blackthorn," Julian said, smiling. "That's quite the name."

Emma smiled back at him. "He's going to be quite the baby."


	12. Cal's Crossbow

Alec panted as he burst through the portal, making a Herculean effort at keeping Max attached to his hip and holding Rafe's hand with his free one.

"I'm here!" He announced, then realized the LA institute's foyer was currently empty. He took a second to catch his breath and set Max down. Then, he looked up to see Emma frantically rushing down the stairs and into the living room, clutching Cal tightly against her chest. Alec followed her in, Max and Rafe tagging along behind him.

"JULIAN!" Emma screamed. "CODE RED! CODE RED!"

"Code red?" Alec asked, confused, but Emma was already climbing back up the stairs and leaving Cal on a brightly patterned baby blanket on the living room floor. Alec marveled at the fact that she had left her son in his care without even greeting him when Cal started to cry. Very, very loudly. As Alec started to pick him up to calm him down, Emma came flying back down the stairs, Julian in tow. Both were dressed formally, but the effect was made less impressive by the frenzy they were in.

In Emma's hand was what appeared to be some sort of plush toy, which she placed in front of Cal as soon as she was close enough to do so. Immediately, he stopped crying. Alec looked closer at the toy that was now clutched in Cal's hand.

"Is that. . . is that a crossbow?" Alec asked, surprised.

Julian laughed. "Yeah. I use a crossbow, and Diana found this plush one for Cal so he can match his daddy. It fires a tiny plush arrow when you pull here, and vibrates and makes sounds as it shoots." Julian took the toy from his son's hand to demonstrate, and Cal burst into tears.

"Julian!" Emma scolded, but Julian just pulled the trigger. An arrow shot out from the front, attached to a thin string about three feet long. It made a loud noise, and Cal stopped crying and smiled. Then the string retracted, pulling the arrow back inside. Julian handed the toy back to Cal, who laughed and pulled on the trigger again.

"Wow," Alec remarked. "I never had such high tech toys when I was a baby. It's a new age in Shadowhunting."

"Oh, hi, Alec!" Emma laughed. "Sorry, we're kind of a mess, as you can see."

"Nah, it's okay. Hey, where is everyone else?"

"Mark, Cristina, and Diego are on patrol, and you know how it is with Arthur," said Julian, giving a sad shrug. "Dru convinced Livvy, Ty, and Kit to take her to the movies with them, and Tavvy has a playdate with Cameron's brother, Freddie. It's pretty much an empty house."

Alec nodded.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going. But I don't wanna leave my little Cal-Cal!" exclaimed Emma. She dropped to her knees and pulled him onto her lap, tickling him until he laughed so hard Alec was starting to get concerned. Then, Emma pulled Cal closer to her chest, saying things that could only be described as baby-talk.

"Hey! He's my son too, you know," Julian joked, then tried to take Cal from Emma's arms. At first, he wasn't very successful, but then Emma gave up and handed her son to Julian. Julian held him up and spun him around, making him giggle, then hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead.

Alec sighed. "Uh, you guys? You realize you're only going to be gone a few hours, right?"

Emma looked up. "Oh! Right. Sorry, we're just not used to leaving him with other people. One of us is kinda with him 24/7."

"All the more reason why you really need a break. Go. Have fun. Be nineteen. I know how to take care of babies." Alec ruffled Max's hair, and Max made a face.

"I'm not a baby!" he complained, and pulled away from his father's touch.

"I know you're not. But you used to be tiny like Cal. Even smaller, when we first got you."

"Like this big?" Max asked and put his hand six inches above the floor. Alec laughed aloud.

"Oh, no. You were a little bit bigger. But Auntie Emma and Uncle Julian have to go now. Say, goodbye, Max!" He took his son's hand and made him wave, and Emma and Julian laughed. "Rafe? You too, buddy. Come on, be nice."

"No quiero ser simpático! Papá es antipático."

"Rafe! What's the one rule in the Lightwood-Bane household?" Alec said sternly.

"No moping. . ." Rafe replied in a small voice. "But Papa took away my iPad!"

"Not your iPad. The family's iPad. Papa took it away because you were being mean to Max and not sharing with him. That was hours ago, Rafe. No moping."

" _Fine,_ " Rafe grumbled. "Bye!" He waved at Emma and Julian. After waving back, they turned away.

"Mama!" Cal called out, finally looking up from his plush crossbow. Emma turned around and wiggled her fingers at him.

"Bye, Cal-Cal! Can you do bye-bye for Mommy?"

Cal proceeded to clap his fisted palms together.

"No, Cal. Bye-bye! Wave bye-bye to Mommy!"

Cal clapped again.

Finally, Julian turned to Emma and grabbed her arm. "Emma, we really need to go. We have a reservation at the restaurant in 20 minutes. We need to leave. Now." Then, he dragged her out the door, still waving at Cal, whose interest had returned to his favorite toy.

"Well!" Alec said, turning to face the group. "We're gonna have a fun night."

Max walked over and sat down next to Cal. "Hi!" he exclaimed. "I'm Max! Can you say Max?"

"Ma-Mama!"

"No, Max!"

"Mama!"

"Max!"

"Mama!"

"Max!" Max jumped up angrily, and turned to Alec. "Daddy! He's being mean!"

Alec scooped Max up. "No, Maxie. He can't talk very well yet. Your name is too hard for him." Max scrunched up his face, looking sad. Meanwhile, Rafe made his way over to Cal and knelt down.

"How about Rafe? Can you say Rafe?"

"Ra-ra!" Cal giggled, and Rafael looked very pleased with himself.

"Not fair!" Max shrieked. He wiggled out of Alec's arms and stomped over to Cal. "Say Max!" he demanded of the baby. "M-ah-x."

"M-ah."

"M-ah- _x_ ," Max prompted.

Cal scrunched his eyebrows together and didn't say anything.

"Say Max!" Max yelled again, yanking on Cal's arm in frustration. "Max!"

"Woah!" Alec yelped as Cal burst into a fresh round of tears. He pulled Max back, not seeming to notice that Cal's toy had fallen from his grip and was now laying on the floor. "Max, stop it. He's a baby. He can't say your name, but it isn't his fault."

"But he said Rafe's name!" Max said, his lower lip trembling.

"I know, honey. The 'R' sound is easier than the 'X' sound for babies. In a few months he'll be able to say your name."

"But I want him to say it _now,_ " Max whined, and a few tears spilled out of his eyes. Alec groaned inwardly. Then, the sound of Cal wailing finally registered, and he looked over to see big fat tears streaming down his face. Alec picked Cal up, simultaneously rocking the baby and searching for the plush crossbow, now missing.

The rocking didn't seem to be having any effect on the steady flow of tears. Alec's gaze swept the floor and the surrounding area until it finally landed on Rafe. Alec carried the still screaming Cal over to his son, who was perched on the edge of the couch, turning the crossbow over in his hands.

"Rafael?" Alec said.

"Sí?" He asked innocently, looking up from the couch at Alec.

"I've been looking for that. Did you notice that Cal is screaming his head off? He wants his toy."

"Oh," Rafe said. He stood up and offered the toy to Cal, whose cries stopped at once. Alec let out a sigh.

Crisis averted.

Alec sank down onto the couch, bouncing Cal on his lap. Cal giggled.

"Can we play with him?" Rafe asked.

"Yes, but you have to be careful," Alec said. "He's a baby and can get hurt very easily." Alec placed Cal back on the baby blanket. Rafe and Max plopped down on either side of him. Rafe sat Cal up and pulled him onto his lap. Cal wiggled out of his grip and back onto the floor. Rafe looked back at Alec, looking upset.

"It's okay," Alec rushed to say before Rafe could get mad. "He just doesn't want to be held right now. It doesn't mean he dislikes you."

"Okay," Rafe said, settling back onto the carpet.

"Cal, I like your bow," Max said. "Can you show me how to shoot it?" Alec smiled. This was Max's first time being around someone younger than himself, and although it had gotten off to a rough start, Max seemed to be doing better.

"Bow!" Cal said delightedly, waving one hand at the toy. Then, he gripped it in one fist and pulled the trigger with the other. The arrow shot out into Max's stomach, who promptly shrieked in pain. Alec jumped to his feet.

"Max! What's wrong?" He rushed to scoop his son into his arms. Max was crying, his face streaked with tears. Alec pulled up his shirt to examine his stomach. There was a small red mark in the middle. "That was a plush arrow, Maxie. It shouldn't have hurt like that. I don't know what happened." He was interrupted by another cry of pain, this time Rafe's. Alec dropped down to his knees next to the kids. Rafael had a hand covering a spot on his other arm. Alec put Max down and gently pried Rafe's hand away. There was a red mark on his arm as well.

Cal was giggling, waving his crossbow in the air. He pulled the trigger again, and this time the arrow flew out and hit Alec squarely in the forehead.

"Ow!" Alec fell backwards in surprise. He quickly sat back up, rubbing his forehead. He reached for Cal's toy, but Cal pulled it back and shot Alec in the hand. The arrows were retracting quicker than usual, and Cal shot again almost immediately, the arrow hitting Max's chest and then Rafe's leg. They were both crying.

"Rafe, Max, get behind the couch and- _Ow!_ " He stopped as Cal repeatedly shot him in the side, giggling hysterically.

"Give me that!" Alec said, grabbing for the toy and receiving another hit to the hand. Alec made a grab with his other hand, successfully commandeering the toy, but not before Cal had the chance to make one last shot. The arrow shot over Alec's head, the string stretching impossibly long. There was a loud crash and the sound of Rafe and Max crying out. Alec whirled around, jumping to his feet and bounding over to the couch as Rafe and Max stumbled out from behind it. They ran to Alec, sobbing.

There was blood. Cal's arrow had shattered a glass _something_ on the mantel over the fireplace, and the broken shards had rained down on the boys. Alec couldn't discern from his glance at the wreckage what the item had been. A piece of glass was sticking out of Max's shoulder, and Alec assumed there were more, smaller pieces on both boys.

It wasn't like the sight of blood was foreign to Alec, but seeing his little boys covered in it and whimpering in pain was new to him. It was something he wished he could always protect them from, but he knew that Rafe was a Shadowhunter and Max a warlock. They would be wounded many times. But for now, they were Alec's babies, and he wanted to tear down anything that dared to hurt them. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do to broken glass, and he couldn't blame Cal.

Sensing the distress of his companions, Cal had begun to cry as well, dropping the crossbow. Alec took a breath to compose himself and jumped to action. He sat his kids down on the couch, put the crossbow on the mantel where none of the kids could reach it, scooped Cal up, and ran upstairs. Cal was screaming yet unharmed, and Alec set him down in a baby carrier that he found in the hallway. He carried the baby to the infirmary, where he grabbed bandages, tweezers, and other assorted medical supplies. Then he rushed back downstairs to his kids. He put Cal, still shrieking, on the floor. He would have to wait a little longer.

Rafe still hadn't gotten his first rune yet, so Alec had to use mundane healing instead of an iratze. Even so, Shadowhunters heal fast. Alec pulled the big shard of glass from Max's shoulder and Max whimpered, more tears spilling out from the corners of his eyes. Alec quickly pressed a bandage to the spot as more blood spilled out. He was vaguely aware that he was getting blood all over the Blackthorns' sofa and carpet, but he assumed it wasn't the first time.

Alec did his best to keep Max and Rafe calm as he wiped up the blood, pulled out glass shards, and bandaged their wounds, but it was difficult as Cal was still screaming his little head off.

Once he had finished tending to their wounds, Alec kissed them each on the forehead and turned to Cal. He bounced the baby up and down, hoping he would quiet down without the toy. Alec even tried to tickle him, but he just screamed louder. Max stood up and walked over, looking up at Cal, who reached down toward him. Alec crouched so they were at the same level. Cal stretched his fingers out and touched Max's shoulder. It glowed blue-green, and Max's eyes widened in surprise.

"Daddy, it doesn't hurt anymore!" Alec lifted the corner of the bandage to inspect the wound, and where there had previously been a jagged gash, there was now only a thin white line, standing out starkly against Max's navy blue skin. Cal stopped crying and gurgled happily.

"Wow, Cal! Let's try that again." Alec touched Cal's hand to another bandage on Max's wrist, but nothing happened. After a couple more tries, Alec gave up.

"How about we get you a bottle?" Alec said, holding Cal against his shoulder and heading into the kitchen. "All that crying and healing must have made you hungry!" Max and Rafe trailed along behind their father.

In the kitchen, Alec fixed Cal a bottle and then offered it to the baby, who opened his mouth cooperatively. He sucked at the bottle eagerly. Alec sank gratefully onto a chair.

"Daddy? We're hungry too," Rafe said.

"Let me finish feeding Cal, and then I'll get you guys a snack. Okay?" The boys nodded and sat down. Cal drank the rest of his bottle and then burped and yawned. "I think someone needs a nap," Alec said. He took the baby back to the living room and put him back in his carrier. Alec gently rocked him until he fell asleep.

Alec let out a sigh and turned back to his sons. "Okay, guys. Snacktime."

A few minutes later, after Alec had the kids set up with their Rainbow Goldfish, he went back to the living room to figure out why the crossbow had been so dangerous and caused so much damage. It was, after all, just a plush toy. Something didn't add up. Alec sat cross-legged on the floor, gently picking up the instrument of destruction and inspecting it. He looked closely at the arrow, and noticed that it was not plush anymore. It was plastic, and it was sharp. Not plush at all. Cal must have magicked it into dangerousness.

Alec walked behind the couch to see what had been shattered by the arrow and injured his children. It appeared to be an award of some sorts, and, remembering what it had looked like unshattered, he realized it looked a little familiar. A pit of dread began to grow in his stomach. As he picked up the pieces and put them together, he saw that the lettering on the glass spelled out the last thing Alec wanted to see:

 _ **Shadowhunter of the Year Award**_

 _ **Presented to**_

 _ **Emma Carstairs**_

 _ **for excelle**_ _ **nce in practical skills and sword fighting**_

Alec groaned and covered his face with his hands. Probably the biggest accomplishment in Emma's lifetime, and her son had destroyed the only thing to show for it on his watch. He remembered attending the ceremony, watching Jace present the same award he had won only a couple years ago to Emma. Alec turned to look at Cal, still sleeping peacefully in his carrier.

"Why that, Cal?" Alec muttered to himself. "There were so many random decorative vases you could have hit instead. Why this?" Needless to say, Cal didn't respond. With another sigh, Alec went to go find a broom to clean up the shards of Emma's award. He located one in the kitchen pantry, and swept the glass into a plastic bag. He couldn't just throw away Emma's precious accomplishment.

Next Alec figured he should at least attempt to get the blood out of the carpet and sofa. Luckily, as an experienced Shadowhunter, he had cleaned up blood many times before. And as an experienced father, he was used to cleaning juice out of the rug. After a few minutes of scrubbing, the carpet and sofa looked like nothing had happened.

Alec had been sitting for ten minutes, finally calmed down, when Ty, Livvy, Kit, and Dru returned, chattering about the movie they had just seen. Something about Fantastic Beasts and a guy named Newt. _Fantasy movies these days,_ Alec thought. The four of them went upstairs without even acknowledging Alec, and he wondered if he should check to make sure they weren't doing anything illegal. He decided he trusted them enough. After all, they had been out alone for the past three hours.

Soon after, Cristina, Diego, and Mark returned from patrol.

"Anything interesting today?" Alec asked them. Diego shrugged.

"Pretty boring, actually. We literally just sat on a roof for hours," he said.

"You'll be wishing for boring patrol days when you're fighting a moloch demon."

"Yeah. But at least that's something to do."

"Enjoy the peace while you can," Alec advised.

"So, how'd babysitting go?" Cristina asked as Max and Rafael wandered into the room.

"Well. . ." Alec began, and trailed off as Cristina scooped up Rafe and started speaking to him in rapid fire Spanish. Rafe giggled and responded, and Cristina carried him away up the stairs, Diego following behind her.

Alec turned back to Mark. "She just stole my child." Mark laughed. Then he cut off abruptly and turned pale.

"CRISTINA!" he screamed up the stairs. "WE FORGOT TAVVY!"

Cristina came barreling back down the stairs, yelling in Spanish. Alec didn't know what she was saying, but he guessed it was probably a curse.

"You guys were supposed to pick up Tavvy?" Alec asked.

"Yes!" Mark said. He ran back outside, followed by Cristina and Diego, who had just come downstairs behind Cristina. The door slammed shut behind them.

Alec looked down at Max, who looked very confused. "Let's go find your brother," Alec said, scooping Max into his arms.

Cal chose that moment to wake up and start screaming again. Alec supposed that he couldn't blame him, since Mark, Cristina, and Diego had caused quite the commotion. Alec put Max down and picked Cal up instead.

"Rafe?" he called, glancing up the stairs. Rafael was leaning against the banister at the top. "Come on down, buddy," Alec said. Rafe ran down the staircase and over to Max.

Alec turned his attention back to the baby, bouncing him and rocking him to no avail.

"Why won't he stop screaming?" Max asked, and Alec had to hold in a laugh. He bit his tongue to stop from telling Max that he used to (and still sometimes did) cry just like Cal. Somehow Alec didn't think Max would appreciate that.

Eventually, after nearly ten minutes of trying to calm the screaming baby, Cal's tears began to subside. At that point, the front door opened and Emma and Julian stumbled through the door, arms around each other, kissing frantically. They were clearly drunk, as Julian's words were slightly slurred. As they made their way towards the stairs, Alec cleared his throat.

"I, um, hate to break this lovefest up, but, er, there's kids in the room. Namely, your son." Emma unlatched herself from Julian.

"Oh. Right." She stepped toward Alec and Cal, and Julian followed. Their steps were slow and careful, but they seemed to become more sober with each one. Cal saw his mother, and he reached his arms towards her. Emma smiled.

"Hi, Cal! Mommy's back! Did you miss me?"

"Mama!" Cal squealed, and Emma took him from Alec.

"Were you a lot of trouble to Alec? I'm sure you weren't. You're a good boy, right? Yes you are! Yes you are!" She spun him around and pulled him closer to her chest. "I know I missed you!" she stage-whispered to him. Alec laughed. She turned to him.

"He wasn't too much trouble, was he?"

"Uh, about that…" Alec trailed off. "You see, he, um, may or may not have broken your Shadowhunter of the Year award." Emma gasped.

"Cal! Why would you do that to Mommy?" And then, to Alec, "How did that even happen? We had it as high up as we could so he wouldn't break it!"

Alec took a deep breath, then explained everything that had happened that night.

"So that's why your kids are bandaged up," Julian said when Alec was done.

"Yep."

"We're terribly sorry about that. I think it's about time we got this little guy some magic training. We'll see to that when we're less intoxicated. Do you think Magnus would be willing to help?"

"I don't think he would mind at all. I'll talk to him about it."

"Great. Thanks. Is everyone home? They should be."

"Dru, Livvy, Ty, and Kit are back. Cristina, Diego, and Mark came back from patrol, but they forgot to pick Tavvy up on the way, so they went back to get him."

"Seriously? I'll have to have a conversation with those three when they get back."

"Sounds good to me," Alec said, and took Cal from Emma's arms. He pushed her towards Julian. "Go upstairs. Be teenagers. I'll stay with Cal until Cristina, Diego, and Mark are back."

Emma sighed. "Thanks, Alec. I really appreciate this. I owe you one." Then, she took Julian's arm and pulled him upstairs with her. He said something in her ear, and she giggled.

Alec sat on the floor next to Max, setting Cal down in front of him, waiting for Cristina, Mark, and Diego to return.


	13. Behemoth

Cal was thoroughly enjoying his mac-and-cheese, although more of it was getting on his face, clothes, hands, and the table than actually in his mouth. He grabbed another fistful from his bowl and stuffed it into his mouth, half of it falling into his lap.

"You're a mess," Emma said fondly, reaching for a napkin to wipe off Cal's face.

"Don't bother," Julian said. "He's just gonna make more of a mess. May as well wait until he's done." As if to prove his father's point, Cal proceeded to smear another glob onto his chin. Emma sighed and put the napkin down.

Julian took a bite of his brisket sandwich, and Emma reached across the table with her fork to take some of the meat falling out of the bread.

"Hey," Julian said playfully. "Don't steal my food." He then reached across and took a big bite of her avocado melt. They continued to tease each other and eat each others' food until their waiter came over and asked if they wanted dessert.

"I think we do," Emma said, and ordered the Canter's special for them to share: a chocolate sundae with hot fudge and a cherry.

"Are you finished with your meals?" the waiter asked.

"We're still picking at it for now," Julian responded, and the waiter nodded and left. Julian started eating Cal's mac-and-cheese.

"Hey!" Emma said sternly. "Don't take food from our precious child, you big baby. You have your own food." Jules made a face at her and pointedly took another bite of mac-and-cheese. Emma rolled her eyes.

A few minutes later their waiter returned with their ice cream and cleared their plates. Emma and Jules dug in, until Emma remembered that she had a child. She scooped out a big spoonful onto a plate for him, and he grinned and wiped it over his mouth with his hand.

Julian and Emma finished off their dessert, and then Julian turned to Cal.

"Caligula Jonathan Blackthorn, you are a disaster," he said. "A cheesy chocolatey disaster." He started to attack Cal with a napkin and then gave up. "You need to go to the bathroom to wash up, young man."

Emma giggled as Julian attempted to pick up Cal without getting covered in food. As this was an impossible task, he failed. Emma snorted. Julian fake glared at her.

"You wanna take your son to the bathroom?" he asked, holding Cal out toward her. Emma wrinkled her nose.

"No way."

Julian laughed. "Fine."

Fifteen minutes later, Cal was cleaned up, the check was paid, and the three of them were walking down the sidewalk outside Canter's. The sun was setting over the water and the shadows all around them were lengthening.

"It's getting late," Julian remarked, sounding nervous.

"The sun is just starting to set," Emma reassured him. "We can make it home."

Even so, Julian scooped Cal into his arms and sped up his pace. They made it a few more blocks before they heard a scream coming from an alley they were passing. Julian and Emma both froze. Another scream followed, and then a chittering sound that Emma knew all too well.

"Why?" Emma whined. "Why can we not go out for a nice family dinner, _just once,_ without running into a demon? Seriously. I just want one peaceful family outing. But no."

"Em," Julian said. "Get Cal home. I'll deal with it real quick and be right behind you."

Emma looked at him like he was insane. "You actually think I'm gonna let you walk into an encounter with an unknown number of demons alone down a dark alley? Are you out of your mind?"

"It's not like I've never faced a demon before, Em. I'm perfectly capable. Our three-year-old son, on the other hand, is not. And that is why you are going to take him home and keep him safe."

Emma had to admit that he had a point. The last thing she wanted to do was put Cal in any danger. However, she also couldn't send Julian into danger alone. Not when they had no idea what the danger entailed.

"Hey Cal," Emma said gently, taking him out of Julian's arms. "We have to go kill a demon. You know about demons. Mommy and Daddy will be fine, don't worry, but this is your first time. So you're gonna be really careful, okay? Can you stay out of the way? And don't go near it? And Mommy and Daddy will kill it real quick, and-"

"Emma, no. Absolutely not. You're gonna take our son home and be safe, both of you."

"No, I am not. I am going to go with you, and we will get this over with quick. It will be so much better working together, like always."

"Emma, we have a _toddler._ He does not know how to protect himself. Get him out of here now, Emma. I'm not kidding. _Go._ "

"No!" Emma protested. Another scream came out of the alley. "We go now. And we go together. You can either stand here and keep arguing with me, or we can get this done. Your choice. But that person needs help. And they need it now. I'm going." And with that, she turned and marched into the alley.

Julian stalked after her and grabbed the back of her shirt, spinning her around to face him.

"I'll go in the front. You stay behind with Cal, and only intervene if I really need it. Deal?" Julian said brusquely. Emma nodded, and Julian stepped in front of her to see in the shadows of the alley the most disgusting demon in the shadow world- the Behemoth. He made a sound halfway between a sigh and a groan, then turned back to Emma.

"Runes?"

Julian nodded silently and took Cal from Emma's outstretched arms. Emma fished out her stele from her jeans pocket and took Julian's arm, inking runes of endurance, healing, and night vision into his skin. They glowed faintly with the power of their altered _parabatai_ bond. Once she was done, they switched spots and Julian drew Emma's runes for her.

Then he ran into battle.

The Behemoth turned at the sound of his sneakers slapping on the pavement, attention taken away from the person on the ground against the wall. Julian was pretty sure the man was still breathing, but his arm was bent at an unnatural angle and it was bleeding profusely. He wasn't moving. The Behemoth started slithering toward Julian, who now had a seraph blade drawn.

"Remiel," he muttered under his breath, and the light blazed. The demon oozed and chittered. Julian grimaced. He _hated_ Behemoths. Why did they have to be so slimy and oozing? Forcing himself to ignore his repulsion, Julian darted forward and plunged the seraph blade into the demon's side. The Behemoth hardly even reacted, and the light of the seraph blade went out. Julian tossed it aside and whipped out a short knife instead, jumping back. There was really no way to kill this kind of demon with a single good hit. The slime just shifts around and the demon reforms. This was another reason Julian despised them so much. A fight with a Behemoth was exhausting, because you just had to keep attacking until it ran out of energy to keep regenerating.

The demon continued to slither closer, and Julian kept backing up. Then he jumped to the side and ran around it, stabbing with his knife on the side without teeth. The demon shuddered and convulsed before reforming. The man against the wall chose that moment to gasp and sit up. The Behemoth immediately dissolved. Julian whirled as it reformed directly in front of the man. He was struggling to his feet, cradling his injured arm against his chest.

Julian was too far away to help, and started to sprint over as a knife whizzed past his head and embedded itself in the demon's back.

The Behemoth hissed, and Julian forced himself not to look back at Emma as the demon turned toward him. He didn't want it to know that he wasn't alone. He slipped his last knife out of his belt. The Behemoth, enraged, dispersed and reformed just a few feet away from him. Gripping one knife in each hand, Julian faced the demon. His palms were sweaty. He'd faced demons countless times in the past, but this time was different. This time Cal was with Emma at the entrance of the alley, both of them in danger of being attacked by the demon at any moment. He was so nervous, and that was just making him angrier. He needed to just kill this demon quickly. He took a breath, and when he let it out, he lunged forward with both knives pointed toward the demon. At the last second, it dissolved and reformed right behind him, sinking its teeth into his leg. Julian clenched his jaw as pain exploded in his leg. He collapsed to the ground, rolling onto his back and trying to push himself up to a sitting position.

"HEY!" Emma's voice yelled. "Look over here, you slimy snot monster!"

The Behemoth slowly turned away from Julian, and he breathed a sigh of relief before realizing that the demon had just turned toward his girlfriend and son. He hoped Cal was waiting cooperatively by the alley entrance. Of course, that was dangerous too, leaving a three-year-old unattended in a dark alley. But it was safer than this. Julian scrambled to his feet, leaning heavily against the brick side of a building as Emma continued to yell at the demon, waving a thin dagger in the air.

"You want some?" she called. "Yeah?" She drove her blade into the part of the demon that most closely resembled the head. It shuddered for a long time before reforming, but it did reform. And Emma's dagger was buried hilt deep in its slime. She whipped out another knife and met Julian's eyes over the demon's head. He felt a pulse in his parabatai rune.

 _This is my last knife,_ Emma's voice said in his head. _So it better work, or you need to be ready with a plan._

Julian swallowed, his leg screaming in complaint as he hesitantly put some weight on it. Emma took a few steps back, slowly, the demon following. She darted around behind it, slashing at its side as she went. She then turned and threw the knife with all her force into its side.

The demon shuddered and spasmed for a very long time. Emma let out a small breath and turned toward Julian, thinking it was over.

Then it reformed.

"Ugh! Why do you Behemoths have to be so hard to kill!" Emma whined. She looked frantically around for something to use as a weapon and came up empty. She looked down at her hands. "Eugh. I have to touch it, don't I? I really don't want to touch it."

She sighed, jumped forward, and punched it hard. Her fist went into the slime, and immediately began to sting. She yanked it out, coated in burns from the demon ichor. She muttered a curse under her breath as the demon pushed her back, completely unaffected by the punch. It backed her over to Julian and he put an arm around her. He used it to pull himself up a little straighter, both of them drawing strength from the contact. Their runes pulsed, and it felt like a burst of energy.

But they were still weaponless.

"Mommy!" a small voice yelled, and Cal toddled out into the alley. Julian squeezed Emma's clean hand as fear gripped him. Emma squeezed back, prepared to go to all lengths to keep their son safe. Cal reached his hand forward as the Behemoth turned toward the sound of his voice. A blue-green bolt of lighting shot from his fist, striking the Behemoth right in its open mouth. It froze. Shuddered. And disintegrated, leaving behind a pool of green slime. Emma and Julian looked frantically around them to make sure it wasn't reforming. It was nowhere to be seen. Finally, the Behemoth was gone.

"Mommy!" Cal called. Emma ran forward, scooping Cal into her arms and crying. Cal let out a shriek as his mother's hand touched his skin, the ichor coating her hand getting all over his back.

"Oh my God," Emma exclaimed, nearly dropping Cal in her haste to let go of him. Julian had managed to hobble over and he took Cal from Emma's arms and put him down, then sank to the ground beside him, leaning his back against the wall.

"Daddy, you're hurt!" Cal said, reaching out and putting his hand on his father's leg. It glowed blue-green, and Julian's skin mended together. He let out a sigh.

"Wow, thanks buddy!" Julian said, pulling Cal onto his lap. "Can you do that for Mommy, too?"

"Of course!" Cal said defensively, as if Julian had implied that he couldn't. He reached up to Emma. She let out a laugh and made eye contact with Julian as she dropped to her knees on the ground. She held her hand out to Cal.

"Be careful not to burn yourself again," Emma said, but Cal just put his little hand over Emma's and healed her. "Thank you," she said. "Can you heal yourself too? Does your back still hurt?" She cautiously touched it.

"I already fixed that, Mommy," Cal said.

Emma laughed, and kissed Cal's forehead.

Their attention was shifted by a loud cough. "I, uh, hate to interrupt, but would someone care to explain what the heck just happened? And also maybe share some of that healing voodoo?" Emma and Julian whirled around. The injured man was sitting against the wall around ten feet away.

"I forgot he was here," Julian muttered to Emma. "We are really shitty Shadowhunters." Emma started to giggle and then stopped herself.

"Yeah, I forgot too."

Cal climbed off his mother's lap and ran over to the man. Emma sighed. "We need to work on teaching him stranger danger."

"Eh," Julian said. "He can fight them off."

They helped each other up and followed Cal. He was already standing by the man's side, his hand on his broken arm. Seconds later, it was mended and all was well. After an awkward goodbye, Emma, Julian, and Cal walked out of the alley and made their way to the car a few blocks down. Once in the front seat, Emma sighed.

"Well, that happened," she said.

"Home?" Julian asked.

Emma nodded. "I'm exhausted after all that. I just wanted one day with my boys. Guess we don't get that as Shadowhunters."

"Maybe not," Julian said with a small smile, "but you make the best of it."


	14. Malec Wedding ft Sprinkle Chapter 1

Max and Cal seemed to be having fun redecorating Magnus and Alec's apartment and turning all the pillows on the sofa into various neon shades. _Might as well just let them do that than steal new furniture every time we get bored of it,_ Magnus thought. He was staying home watching Max, Cal, and Rafe while the rest of the adults were off to do- whatever it was that they had said they were doing. They'd been very vague about it, but made it clear that Magnus was not supposed to come along. He had a niggling suspicion it had nothing to do with the plumbing of the Institute and everything to do with tomorrow's wedding.

Magnus still couldn't believe he was actually getting married. In all his years of life, he had never expected to be able to marry someone, and certainly not a Shadowhunter. He let his mind wander as the kids giggled and tried to see who could make the most blinding color. This time tomorrow he would be officially married to Alec Lightwood, and he couldn't be happier.

"Papa!" Max said. "Look at this one!" He shoved into Magnus's face a pillow in a color that seemed to shift between a hideous yellow-brown and a headache-inducing shade of red.

"That's great, Max." Magnus resisted the urge to change it to something less sickly-looking.

"Mine is better!" five-year-old Cal protested, holding up a pitch black pillow with stars of glitter that seemed to flicker. Magnus was automatically drawn to anything with glitter, but Cal's pillow was not obnoxiously glittery. Not that anything, in Mangus's opinion, could ever have too much glitter, but he'd learned that most people disagreed with him on that subject. This pillow was the sort of thing most people would like, and he was frankly pretty amazed that Cal had managed to create it. Better yet, he was pretty sure Alec would love it.

"Wow, Cal, that's amazing!" Magnus said. "Do you want to give it to Alec as a wedding gift?" Cal considered this, unwilling to part with his masterpiece so easily.

"I'll give Daddy mine!" Max said, trying to get his father's attention back.

 _Oh, poor Alec,_ Magnus thought, only half joking.

"I'll give him mine, too!" Cal had a habit of wanting to do everything Max did.

"That's great, boys. I'm sure he will love both of them. Now you two keep working. I'm gonna go check on Rafe."

Magnus stood up and stretched, then walked to Rafe's room. He knocked on the door and received a dejected "Come in." Rafe was lying down on his bed with a book open in front of him. Magnus sat down next to his son.

"Are you all right?" Magnus asked.

"Mmm," Rafe replied.

"Hey, don't be that way. Talk to me."

"I'm fine."

Magnus took the book out of Rafe's hands and put it on the table. "You know you can do lots of stuff that they can't. It's like Dad and I. And you know Max was jealous when you got your first runes a few weeks ago." Magnus took Rafe's hand and traced the Voyance rune on the back. Rafe gave a small smile.

"But-Cal can do everything," Rafe pointed out.

Magnus laughed. "That is true. But that doesn't make him any better than you, you know. You're special to me, _mi dulce_."

" _Papá_ , that's so cheesy," Rafe complained, but he was laughing. Magnus poked him in the stomach.

"Cheesy but true. Now come on out and join us."

Minutes later, Magnus was back in the living room sitting on the couch -which was now a bright blue- and Rafe was next to him. Each time a pillow changed colors, he rolled his eyes and smiled.

"See," Magnus said, "you wouldn't want to do the silly things they're doing anyway."

Rafe just chuckled. At that moment, a portal suddenly swirled and opened up near the kitchen. Alec stumbled out, breathless and covered in golden glitter, and bent to put his hands on his knees.

"I. . . just . . . ran . . . all over the hotel . . . " he trailed off and hobbled over to the sink to get himself a drink of water.

"Wait, what happened?" Magnus asked, bewildered. He peeked into the still-open portal and saw what looked like a disaster of epic proportions.

Alec gathered himself and started again. "We were in the hotel ballroom putting the last touches on the decorations and plans for the portal to Idris for the ceremony and . . . other things . . . and then glitter just exploded everywhere and I went looking for Clary because she went missing and I needed her to portal me over here to get you so you could fix everything and now everything we were doing just got ruined and please just come and make the glitter go away. You know how it gets in _everything_."

Magnus wasn't sure why glitter in everything was a problem, but he supposed Alec might see it that way. He had a small smile on his face as he told the kids to clean up so they could go fix the glitter 'emergency'. _So they_ weren't _fixing the plumbing issues of the bathrooms on the nonexistent fourth floor of the Institute_ , he thought. _Figures._

They quickly portaled to the hotel, with Magnus barely keeping ahold of all the children, and when they finally landed he understood why the glitter needed to be made to go away. When Alec said there was glitter everywhere, he meant _everywhere._ There was so much glitter it had piled into dunes in the corners of the room and covered the tables, chairs, and other decorations so that they were nothing more than shapeless golden piles. Magnus couldn't even feel the floor beneath his feet because there was so much glitter. He spun slowly in a circle, taking it all in.

"What in Raziel did you _do_? You need to tell me how at some point."

Alec just sputtered. "I have no clue. One minute everything was fine, the next it was all golden."

While Magnus took stock of the situation and thought about how he could fix it, Max and Cal played with the glitter around them. Alec groaned at the thought of scrubbing it all off their skin later, but decided to worry about the situation at hand. With the adults in the room turned away from them, Max used some of his magic to float some of the glitter into the air. The grin on Cal's face only encouraged him. Then, he got what felt like the best idea ever.

"Hey, Cal, watch this," he said mischievously, then proceeded to make a moving glob out of the glitter. It quickly developed eyes and a mouth and even glittery arms. Cal squealed in delight.

"Can we name it?" he pleaded.

Max laughed and nodded. "What should it be?"

"Sprinkle!"

A few feet away, Rafe chuckled at the mischief his brother and his friend were getting into. The name of the glitter glob, he thought, was quite fitting. As they guided the glob away from the group and outside the ballroom, he followed silently. He would not participate in the fun, but he would make sure they didn't get into too much trouble. He was the older one, after all, and the only one with runes.

Once they were safely away from the door, Sprinkle took off running, and the younger boys giggled and chased after it. Rafe followed close behind.

Sprinkle bolted straight for the elevator and shot a stream of glitter at the up button. The door opened with a ding and Max and Cal slipped inside after Sprinkle. Rafe dashed forward, but the doors closed before he made it in. He quickly turned and rushed for the stairs.

Inside the elevator, Max and Cal slammed down all the buttons. The door opened at the next floor and a hotel guest started to enter, then screamed upon seeing Sprinkle. She stumbled over herself in her haste to get out, and the door closed again. Max and Cal looked at each other and started giggling. They got out on the top floor, number 37. Max made Sprinkle run down the hall, trailing his glittery blob of an arm across the ornate wallpaper.

"I want a turn!" Cal announced, pushing in front of Max and taking over control of Sprinkle. He made him turn the other way and run at Max, who shrieked and ducked out of the way. Max took off down the hall, giggling, Cal and Sprinkle in pursuit. Max turned sharply into a stairwell and started running down. He got out a couple floors down and managed to take control back from Cal. The roles switched, and Max and Sprinkle started chasing Cal, who narrowly missed running directly into a table with a vase of flowers. He wasn't so lucky as they rounded the next bend and he couldn't move in time to avoid another table. He crashed into it headfirst and the vase shattered on the floor. Max's eyes widened.

"Run!" he whisper-yelled. Cal spared a moment to press his fingers to his forehead and heal himself before taking off away from the scene of the crime. The trio found another stairwell and stumbled down the steps, giggling and shushing each other. They spilled out into the lobby in a glittery heap, sides shaking with laughter. An old woman glared at them, and they scrambled to their feet, Cal grabbing control of Sprinkle before Max could react. He made Sprinkle weave through the crowd, people yelling and jumping out of the way. Someone screamed for security, and Max shoved Cal and Sprinkle back into an elevator.

Up they went again, to the fifteenth floor. The door opened, and a familiar voice drifted in.

"Max! Cal! You are going to be in so much trouble when we find you!" Alec's voice called from a distance. Max frantically pressed the button to close the door as Cal made Sprinkle press the button for the twenty-first floor. They got out up there, Max trying to take back control. They looped in circles around the floor, control of Sprinkle passing back and forth.

"Give him to me!" Max yelled, shoving Cal. "You had him for way longer!"

"No, you did!" Cal retorted. They approached another stairway, still arguing.

From a couple floors down, Rafe heard the commotion echoing through the stairs. He started to run up.

Cal forced Sprinkle into the stairwell. Max wrestled for control and got a few jerky movements out of the glitter blob. They tugged him back and forth, and as Rafe ran onto the landing, Sprinkle burst open, exploding his glittery gold body into shiny dust all over the three boys. The majority of it hit Rafe full on, and he let out a scream. The particles, thick in the air, began to settle down, revealing two figures.

Alec and Emma. And they did not look happy. In fact, they looked decidedly angry.

"Rafe, I need you to explain to me how this happened. You have one minute," said Alec.

"Dad it wasn't my fault and they just ran off and I tried to stop them and-" Rafe's sputtering was interrupted by Alec's stern voice once again.

"Rafe, you were supposed to be looking after them."

"Yes, Dad, and I tried. I didn't think there would be any harm to a moving glob of glitter, but then they starting running with it and controlling it and I couldn't catch up with them to stop them. I really tried, but they closed the elevator door on me." Rafe's voice was pleading. Alec's eyes softened somewhat, then hardened again as he turned to Max and Cal.

"Max, how many times have we talked about staying out of trouble? Especially with Cal? You're supposed to be teaching him how to use his powers for good, not to cause problems."

Max silently looked at his feet, but Emma still had something to say. "Cal, apologize to Max and Rafe. Immediately." She looked at him expectantly, but he had a defiant look in his eyes. "Cal, apologize _now._ If you don't, we're taking away your new crossbow for a week when we get back. So I suggest you start saying you're sorry."

To everyone's surprise, Max spoke up. "It wasn't Cal's fault. The glitter glob thing was my idea. We were bored, but it's my fault we got in trouble. We should've stayed in the ballroom." Then, he turned to Rafe. "I'm sorry we didn't let you on the elevator with us." And to Cal, "I'm sorry I didn't let you have a turn with Sprinkle. Even if we weren't supposed to be playing with him." Max looked back down at his feet, kicking at the floor, before speaking to his dad again. "I'm sorry about what happened. We won't do it again."

Alec was silent for a moment before saying, "It's all right. We were dealing with some chaos of our own. Just stay out of trouble next time. Let's clean this mess up-" indicating the glitter settling all around him, "-and go home. The ballroom is all set up for tomorrow." He softened visibly at the end of that, looking for all the world like a man in love. Which he was. He ushered them all down the stairs and they went to find everyone else.


	15. Malec Wedding ft Sprinkle Chapter 2

Alec walked down the aisle, his arm looped through his soon-to-be-husband's. The room was filled with all the people closest to them, and at the front stood their groomspeople: Izzy, Catarina, Tessa, Emma, Lily, Maia, Jem, Simon, Julian, Cristina. The ladies were looking beautiful in their dresses (designed by Magnus), which were black with gold detailing at the neckline and hem, and the men were in black tuxes with gold ties and pocket squares. With them were Jace, the best man, and Clary, the maid of honor. Robert stood in the middle, ready to officiate the wedding.

Alec turned to smile at Magnus, who smiled back widely. He still couldn't believe they were actually here.

Alec had been wanting to marry Magnus for years, but Magnus had always insisted that they not marry unless it could be a Shadowhunter wedding, and seen as just as valid as any other in the eyes of the Clave. Alec had understood, but he had been disappointed, and determined to change the law. And after years of hard work behind Magnus's back, he had succeeded. The most important part of a Shadowhunter wedding is the runes, and Alec had finally won a vote that allowed someone close to the Shadowhunter to apply his or her runes, and to have the Downworlder tattooed to match. Alec hadn't been the only one pushing for this, and many other Shadowhunter-Downworlder couples jumped on board as soon as Alec made the first move. It had been difficult to do all of this without Magnus finding out, but he had managed.

That night, returning home from a long but rewarding day, he had sat Magnus down on the couch.

" _Magnus, I think we should get married," Alec had said._

" _Alec, you know I love you, but we've talked about why that can't work. I don't want to get married unless we can get married in gold."_

" _But we can." Alec said, and he couldn't help the small smile that spread over his face. "We can now." And he had proceeded to explain everything he had done._

 _Magnus stared at him in disbelief, trying to process everything._

" _So, Magnus Bane, will you-"_

 _Magnus cut him off with a kiss. "Yes. Yes, I will marry you."_

As they walked towards where the groomspeople were standing, their sons Max and Rafe walked ahead of them. Max was holding the basket with flower petals, sprinkling them onto the aisle and towards the people around them, and in Rafe's hands was a black velvet pillow with his fathers' rings tied to it.

The four of them reached the end of the aisle and Magnus and Alec turned to face each other. Rafe stood behind Alec, between him and the groomspeople. Alec's father, Inquisitor Lightwood, stood to officiate the wedding.

"We gather today to celebrate the union of two men who have done so much for Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike. In addition to all their work during the Dark War, they have furthered Shadowhunter-Downworlder relations more than anyone would have thought possible. They founded the Alliance, and most importantly for today, they got the law changed to make this wedding possible. On a more personal note, Alec, I couldn't be more proud of you or happier for you. And Magnus, I'm so glad you'll finally be a part of the family."

Alec squeezed Magnus's hand and smiled at him. Magnus squeezed back.

"Do you, Magnus Bane, take this man, Alec Lightwood, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish forever?"

"I do," Magnus said, and Alec took the ring from the pillow in Rafe's hand and placed it on Magnus's finger.

Robert repeated the same question to Alec.

"I do." Magnus took the next ring and slid it onto Alec's finger.

"You may now kiss," Robert said.

Everyone clapped as Magnus and Alec did just that.

Jace leaned over to whisper to Izzy, "I guess he finally got over me."

Izzy glared at him and jabbed her elbow into his side.

Robert glanced back at his children before continuing. "Now for the rune ceremony. Jace, please come forward."

Jace stepped forward and faced Alec, who unbuttoned his shirt to expose the skin over his heart. Jace pulled a stele out of his pocket, and Magnus stepped forward and put a hand on Jace's back. Jace lifted the stele to Alec's chest and began to draw. When he

finished, he stepped back and let Magnus move forward. Magnus traced his fingers over the rune, and then stepped back again.

Next was Magnus's rune. Alec's understanding was that a tattoo artist was coming to do Magnus's rune, but Magnus and Jace had made a plan ahead of time. Magnus had gotten the tattoo in advance, and then glamoured it. He unbuttoned his shirt, and Jace approached him with the stele.

"Wait," Alec said, confused. "You can't . . ." His voice trailed off as Jace held the stele to Magnus's chest and began to draw. As he pretended to trace the tip of the stele over Magnus's heart, Magnus slowly revealed the rune.

Alec's eyes widened and he sputtered, "Wh-how?"

Magnus smiled and pulled Alec in for another kiss. He then explained to Alec what they had done. Alec smiled. "I love you, you know that?"

Magnus laughed and pulled him down the aisle with him.


End file.
